The present invention relates generally to an outlet strip assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to an outlet strip assembly comprising a multiple receptacle which is releasably mounted on a base and in the form of an integral piece.
Two types of outlet strips are widely utilized at present. The conventional type of outlet strip assembly generally comprises a cover plate, an adjacent base and receptacles in the form of singular piece or pairs, in addition to necessary electrical elements disposed therein or connected thereto to establish a complete electrical connection. As is required, the cover plate and adjacent base are both made of metals and the receptacles are made of insulated materials such as plastics. Each pair of receptacles are separately and securely mounted on the cover plate by screws or the like, with wires connecting common positive or negative terminals to respective receptacles. One obvious drawback of such construction is that the work required for separately mounting each pair of receptacles on the cover plate and for connecting adjacent receptacles by wires can be time-consuming.
The more recent type of outlet strip assembly comprises a cover plate having all receptacles integrally formed thereon, an adjacent base associated with the cover plate, and three bus bars (for hot wire, neutral wire and grounding wire, respectively) running through each and every receptacle. The cover plate and the adjacent base are preferably made of plastic material, for example, by injection molding. As is apparent, in this type of outlet strip assembly, the bus bars replace the wires for connecting common positive or negative terminals of respective receptacle and the electrical elements received within the receptacles. Further, the receptacles are permanently fixed on the cover plate forming an integral part thereof. While this type of outlet strip assembly is simple in construction it still has drawbacks. For instance, since the receptacles are integrally and fixedly formed on the cover plate, it is difficult, if not impossible, to have the cover plate and the receptacles made of separate colors. In addition, it is not possible that the cover plate be made of conductive materials such as metal, as desired in some situations.